New Bon Iver, FINALLY!

In 2007, Bon Iver (a.k.a. Justin Vernon) went in to the woods of Wisconsin for 3 months and came out with the quiet opus For Emma, Forever Ago. It certainly does feel like forever since we’ve heard new music from Vernon himself, though he was featured extensively on Kanye‘s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and continues to collaborate with Volcano Choir.

So here it is guys, this is pretty exciting, and the song doesn’t disappoint. We find the same meticulous use of layered vocal harmonies and wandering melody but what hits first is the not unpredictable improvement in the production. Part of the allure of For Emma was it’s rusticness and bare bones folk sound, but it’s exciting to hear Bon Iver taking advantage of the studio a little.

Check out “Calgary”, the very first new track from the forthcoming self-titled LP. Is it June 21st yet?

Burst Apart

9 of a possible 10

This album is a breakthrough. Well, to be fair, The Antlers last album Hospice was also a breakthrough. That makes Burst Apart all the more impressive for its ability to retain the best qualities of its predecessor but with more accessibility and no less of the sublime.

There are times that as a fan I make a conscious effort to lower my expectations and avoid openly gushing about a record, but it’s hard not to love this. The whole thing slides by rather quietly; there are no seams. Unlike Hospice the album reveals itself almost immediately. There’s a lush melodic current to the songs and it gives a catchy feel through the first listen.

Album opener “I Don’t Want Love” immediately establishes lead singer-songwriter Peter Silberman for both his downright poetic lyrics (opening a song about a one night stand with “You wanna climb up the stairs/I wanna push you back down”, yes) and his pipes. From Hospice and earlier Antlers recordings it was clear that Silberman was fully capable of channeling a nice combination of Thom Yorke and Jeff Buckley, and his voice simply could not sound more perfectly suited to the music he writes.

The latter half of the album is like a blanket, everything gets more blurry but it’s just as significant. And album closer “Putting the Dog to Sleep” makes a case for one of the best songs about a heartbreakingly congenial breakup ever, if there are many of those songs…

Long story short, please please pleeeeease gentle reader, buy this album. I would be shocked if you were dissappointed.

Check out album opener “I Don’t Want Love” below and stream the whole album from NPR’s First Listen series.